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Would you like to have homemade bread every day? I have had it every day this week! It is SO easy!
I am super excited about the new book I got for FREE with my Swagbucks!
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Here are the ingredients and supplies you will need.
- yeast
- kosher salt
- unbleached all purpose flour
- large container with lid (for storing dough in fridge)
That’s it for the basic recipe, although there are lots of variations in the book illustrated with BEAUTIFUL, glossy photographs.
Basic Homemade Bread Recipe
- 3 Tbsp yeast
- 3 Tbsp kosher salt
- 6 Cups warm water
- 13 Cups flour
1. Combine the salt, yeast, and water.
2. Add flour and mix until there are no dry spots.
3. Cover with a loose lid and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
Oops! We are still looking for a container that will hold the dough and fit in our refrigerator. This will go in the fridge loosely covered for up to 2 weeks. Each day, just get out a blob and follow the remaining instructions below. No kneading!
4. Dust the top of the dough with flour and cut off a hunk or two about the size of a grapefruit. Let that rise for 40 minutes on a corn meal dusted pizza peel if you have one. If not, get all creative and turn a cookie sheet upside down like I did.
Or use loaf pans for a more traditional loaf.
5. After the bread has been rising 20 minutes, Preheat the oven to 450 with a baking stone inside on the middle rack and a broiling pan on the bottom rack.
DON’T use a baking stone you bought from a large discount chain when your Pampered Chef stone was broken in a move, or you will have burning eyes from the choking smoke the stone puts out at this high temperature.
6. At the end of the 40 minute rise, put the bread pans on the stone, or slide the free form loafs on, and fill the broiler pan with 1 cup of hot water.
7. Bake at 450 for 30 minutes.
8. Allow the loaves to cool on a wire rack.
9. Ask your friendly neighborhood fairy to sprinkle them with pixie dust.
10. Be sure to see my video on how to easily cut homemade bread without smooshing it!
*This post is linked at Frugal Friday and Raising Arrows’ Home Cooking Help.
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Stopping by from Frugal Friday – Your bread looks delicious! I am going to have to give this a try!
I have been making this bread for the last year. Love it! You can make that master recipe and bake up some delicious cinnamon rolls too!
I saw that book and wondered about it. Looks great! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I may just have to get my hands on that book. I am so glad you got it and tested it for us! I love bread!
I’m so excited! No kneading and you just grab out a blob and wack it in the oven!!!! That’s Awesome
! Can’t wait to give it a go 
I love that book too! I must say that the Olive Oil dough makes the best pizza crust! I now keep pizza crust dough and artisan bread dough at all times. You also have to try the Rosemary and Onion Foccocia bread. I bought 3 round storage containers from Sams Club (it comes as a 3 pack) that have yellow lids. They are near the restaurant supplies. One will easily hold the basic boule dough doubled. The olive oil dough doubled rises a bit too much…keep it a single batch.
I’m so glad I read this today! (I always do, but sometimes I just skim the text.) In the last 2 years 3 of my favorite PC pans have been left on the stove for drying and the wrong burner turned on and they cracked. I just killed 2 of them last week. Now I’m making a catalog show…need some PC? We were at HEB the other day and hubby spotted their stones. $10 less per stone…hmm. But alas I said no, I’d rather go with tried and true. I would have freaked with smoke coming out today in this cold weather! Thanks, Smockity, for saving me.
)
Love it! Wonder if it would work just as well with whole wheat flour? Maybe half and half?
I have tried it with all fresh ground whole wheat and it’s good just very dense. Half and half is better. Of course using all white makes it taste like bread from Panera:-)
Samantha, I ADORE Panera!! But we are trying to be a bit healthier in our diet this year…
Looks like an easy recipe! My fave kind, no knead! But white flour (well white anything, , sugar,-pasta etc) is a big no no in our house.
Maybe a dough enhancer will work w/the whole wheat?
I agree with Samantha! Only whole wheat will be very dense. In our first batch, we had a little less than a cup of rye flour that we pitched in, and the rest was unbleached all purpose flour. It was very good!
Thanks, Ladies! I will have to play with it and see what works!
So, SO doing this as soon as I can get to the store for the right flour. Seriously? Homemade bread EVERY DAY?? Butter my butt and call me a biscuit!
As I like to say to whichever of the younguns is rubbing my feet, “You’re my favorite!”
Tell me, does it have to be kosher salt? I’m a little bread making naive. Will it turn out differently with regular table salt?
Here is what the book says about salt,
“Our recipes were tested with non-iodized coarse salt (such as kosher salt). If you use a finer salt (like table salt), decrease the salt volume by one-quarter (use only three-quarters as much salt), since it compacts more tightly than coarse salt.”
I’ve been making this bread since last fall – love it!! I haven’t made kneaded bread hardly at all since. I also use it to make pizza (just did for lunch today actually!).
I was wondering the same about the salt. I have some sea salt on hand and wondered if that would be alright to substitute… We are snowed in right now here in OK and would love to have some homemade bread-if the sea salt would work! Thanks for sharing!
Maybe sea salt would be considered a coarse salt and it would be fine. (See my above response to Christie.) I would be interested to know how yours comes out.
This looks fabulous, but I have a few questions:
1. What size bowl do you use, and how do you cover it? I have an 8 quart Tupperware bowl and lid; would it fit, and should I just leave the lid cracked open?
2. How do you cut off a hunk of dough without creating a huge sticky mess? Or is that just part of the fun?
3. A hunk or two the size of a grapefruit? Really? For your crew? Cuz even after it’s risen, that only sounds like 2 servings for my crew, but maybe we’re just big eaters.
Kim,
1. That bowl in the picture is a 6qt, and the batch you see is doubled. We could use a bigger bowl. The lid is supposed to be covering it loosely, to leave room for expansion, so yes, cracked open.
2. You dust the top of the dough while it is still in the bowl before cutting off a hunk.
3. Two hunks make enough for each of us (10) to have a couple of pieces, so 2 loaves would equal one dinner.
Another question: do you make your first loaves the same day, after the 2 hours’ rise time? Or do you have to let it rest in the fridge first?
Got my dough risin’ on the counter right now!
The book says fully refrigerated dough is easier to work with, so that’s the way we did it. I think you can make a loaf right away, though.
Ok. Results are in, and this bread is a big hit! The kids said it was moist and delicious, with a crackly crust and a mild sourdough flavor. One thought it tasted buttery and was shocked to learn that it had no butter or added fat at all.
I’m looking forward to trying again tomorrow when the dough has chilled overnight. I’m guessing it will be less sticky, and more sour-doughy.
Hooray! We were excited to try it day after day (and still are)! The flavor definitely becomes more sourdough tasting as time goes on. Of course, ours never lasted long enough to make it 2 weeks, so who knows what we’re missing!
(In one batch, Madison threw in a couple of tablespoons of sugar, and I’m pretty sure she made beer bread!)
If I bake my loaves in bread pans, do I really need to put the bread pans on my pizza stone? Has anyone tasted a difference?
(I’ll use the broiler pan with water.)
Yeast?? I have SAF instant yeast. Does anyone know if that matters? Sorry to ask so many questions, I just don’t want to waste ingredients.
Thank you for your help! =)
You don’t need the stone if you have bread pans. It just evens out the heat, but it isn’t necessary.
The book says any yeast will do.
I’ll be glad to know how your bread turns out!
Just started our 2nd batch because the last 3 balls of dough are rising on the counter. We’ve been making all our bread for quite a while, but I can’t believe how good and easy this bread is!
Does the book say anything about how it turns out if you don’t use the stone. I don’t have one and want to try this bread anyway, but also don’t wanna just waste the ingredients. I must say, the simplicity is calling me. I mean, I could just walk into the kitchen and whip this up in no time. Love that.
Jenny, You can definitely bake the bread without a stone. I ended up throwing mine away because it was smoking so badly. I just use bread pans for the loaf and a broiler pan for the water.
Thanks Connie, now I feel bold enough to make this tomorrow.
I make this bread often and I store it in the refrigerator in gallon ziplocs with the zipper not fully closed…I believe the book says it should not be completly air tight.
I made this recipe exactly as described in your post. It had a large rise, then I put it in the fridge for 24 hours. Tonight i got out my 2 lumps, let them rise (which they didnt really do). Then i baked. The loafs themselves are the same size as they were when i put them into the oven so no over spring rise either. Plus the outside turned out very hard. I cracked open one piece and the inside has a good taste. I also used a yeast from a new container so i dont think it was that since it did rise when i was resting it prior to the fridge.
Leah,
I’m so sorry your bread didn’t turn out. It sounds like your yeast was good since you had a good rise the first time. My hunks don’t rise a whole lot before I put them in the oven. Did you bake at 450? With a pan of water in the bottom of the oven?
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day has a FAQ page that might have the solution.
I did bake at 450 with a pan full of water underneath. I am going to try baking another loaf tomorrow and use a larger chunk. I might not have gotten a large enough piece out since i baked in a loaf pan. Thanks for the FAQ link
Even though it turned out so hard i could barely cut it the first time what little i could taste was very good lol
i made my bread today with your recipe and it turned out perfect!! i loved it! thank you
me again- i made french toast with the last loaf and it was terrific! my kids want it again tomorrow lol
I’m saving to get this book now. But is there any nutritional info? I mean, OBVIOUSLY it’s healthier than store bought bread, but my husband has diabetes so carbs are a concern. Just wondering! I can’t wait to try this.
Delicious bread! Mixed it up last night, left it on the counter to rise, and tossed in to demi-loaves this morning while getting ready for work. Kids devoured those in no time, so we tossed in another one before I left for work.
CRACK!!! My beloved PC pizza stone cracked into three pieces. Tragedy..
And they only have a 3-yr warranty, and I’ve had mine for 10.
So the stone is gone, and I’ll have to figure out what to bake on. Maybe my cast iron griddle…. yeah, that would work!
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! We had some bread with dinner last night and for breakfast this morning I used it to make this baked french toast from Pioneer Woman. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/cinnamon-baked-french-toast/
Still praying for you family!
It was awesome!! I linked to you today to share the love of this easy and amazing bread!
WOW. This looks great. My friend just sent me this link to your blog and I think I am in love.
Can I use my kitchen aid mixer with this? Or do I need to do it by hand or does it really matter?
Thanks so much for sharing. LOVE your blog.
I tried it out (was super excited about doing so too) but I think I did something wrong. The dough came out super loose and tacky. Is that how it is suppose to be or is there not enough flour in my dough? Help.
Katherine, Is is wetter than my pic of the dough in the bowl up there? It *is* a pretty wet dough, but if you dust the top with flour and have plenty of flour on your hands when you cut off a hunk, it should be manageable.
We LOVE artisan bread! We make it alot! I’m the no-knead mom! My son will knead (or use the Kitchenaid or bread machine)!
We made this bread today and it was so easy! I think we have to get the book so we can make some different kinds of bread. Homemade bread plus almond butter or nutella equals love.
I use fresh milled hard red wheat for my bread. Would that still be too dense? I’ve cleaned out my house of white flour and I just can’t bring myself to buy any more. But I LOVE how easy this recipe sounds!
Just wanted to know if you HAVE to use a stone. I do not have one and from the sound of it I shouldn’t get just anyone.
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